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COL.  GEORGE  WASHINGTON  FLOWERS 
MEMORIAL  COLLECTION 


DUKE  UNIVERSITY  LIBRARY 
DURHAM,  N.  C. 


PRESENTED  BY 

W.  W.  FLOWERS 


AN 

ABDEESS 

OF  THE 

MISSIONARY  SOCIETY 

0FTH3 

PROTESTAXT  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 

2N  THE 

STATE  OF  NORTH-CAEOLIXA, 

CHRISTIAN  FRIENDS, 

THE  present  is  an  eventful  period  of  the  World. 
Noble  efforts  are  making  to  spread  the  Gospel 
ofouradorahle  Kedeemei .  The  bright  beams  of  im- 
mortal life  shine  more  and  more.  The  Eternal 
God  aw  akens  by  his  grace,  beleivers  of  every  de- 
nomination to  spread  the  great  truths  of  his  Ever- 
lasting Gospel,  in  various  ways,  and  by  dim-rent  in- 
struments, amongst  the  Nations  of  the  Eaith. 

Vinong  the  blessed  instruments  of  his  Mercy, 
Missionaries  hold  a  conspicuous  place.  Leaving 
their  homes,  and  t!  esweet  enjoyments  of  domestic 
life,  they  go  in  search  of  distressed  and  wandering 
p  ig  inis  to  guide  them  to  their  Saviour,  the  great, 
ioureeoftheir  spii  ittial  consolation  and  joy.  Clothed 
Wth  authority  tram  Chi  ist.  they  pi •ociainl  ttie-Gofe- 
jb^l  of  Peace  ;  the\  c?utt  'Virh  them  the  sym  Is  of 
his  iuve,  and  sooth  tne  sorrow  s  of  the  weeping  peni- 


m 

tent  by  pointing  feo  him.  Heaven,  by  exhibiting  to 
his  Tfewihe  glories  of  th^  Cross.  '  How  bIesh<-:  flie 
message!  Hov>  hoooramfe  the  messenger !  How 
welcome  to  the  Children  ofthe  Redeemer,  dispersed 
throu gh on t every  land !  How  Saany  dear  brethi -en, 
members  of  the  Church  of  Christ,  are  now  scattered, 
and  far  removed  fr6n)  thfe  enjoyments  and  blessings 
of  our  Social  Worsftjji  and  ordinances,  who  call 
loudly  on  ns  to  remember  them  with  sympathy  ! 

There  is  no  Church  whose  members  are  so  much 
distressed.  There  are  no  members  who  stand 
more  in  need  of  the  Gospel  and  Ordinances  of 
Christ.  What  is  now  the  State  of  Religion  in  the 
Chin  ch  of  North-Carolina  ?  Is  Christianity  gaining 
or  losing  ground  ?  Does  the  Church  which  the  Son 
of  God  purchased  with  his  blood,  still  retain  her 
numbers  ?  Or  are  not  her  nu  mbers  w  of nil y  decrea- 
sed ?  And  is  not  her  spirit  bowed  down  and  sunk  ? 
The  most  inattentive  observer  anions?  the  followers 
of  Christ  cannot  but  see^  and  lament  over  her 
"solitary  places  ;"  cannot  but  shed  a  tear  in  contem- 
plating her  as  once  flourishing  and  prosperous,  but 
now  decayed  and  dilapidated. 

With  a  view  to  remedy  this  lamentable  state  of 
things,  and  correct  the  deplorable  moral  evils  that 
have  resulted  from  it,  the  pieseut  Society  has  been 
instituted.  Its  object  is,  to  send  into  the  destitute 
parts  of  this  State,  pious  and  devout  Ministers  of  the 
Church,  to  give  comfort  and  aid,  instruction  and 
consolation  to  the  members  of  her  Zion  dispersed 
in  almost  every  section.  What  incalculable  bene- 
fits .might  not  two  or  three  Missionaries  confer,  in 
a  few  years,  on  every  corner  of  this  State  ?  And  who 
is  there  that  will  not  give  his  exertions  for  so  lauda- 
ble an  object  ?  W  ho  that  will  not  strive  to  redeem 


fror"  destruction  the  Churches  in  which  our  fathers 
delighted  to  Worship  i  Who  that  will  not  endeavour 
ton  rover  to  religion  and  to  piet},  those  whom  the 
want  of  spiritual  instruction  may  have  rendered 
indifferent  to  their  souls  salvation?  The  tendency 
oi  li  e  present  state  of  things  is,  to  overspread  the 
land  with  darkness.  V  here  the  law  of  God  is  not 
publickly  read  and  explained,  it  must  necessarily 
evaty  day  lose  somt  portion  of  its  authority  and  in- 
fluence  :  and  the  awful  sanctions  b\  which  it  is  en- 
forced, if  they  be  not  entirety  forgotten,  must  copie 
to  be  regarded,  first  with  indifference,  and  then 
with  contempt.  \\  retched  indeed  is  the  condiii  a 
of  a  people  among'  whom  the  light  of  the  Gospel  has 
long  ceased  to  shine.  And  where  has  this  light 
suffered  a  more  total  eclipse  than  in  that  portion  of 
the  Church  in  this  State,  whose  vitality  this  Society 
is  particularly  intended  to  resuscitate  ? 

We  ask  you  then,  fellow  Christians,  with  confi- 
dence— was  your  assistance  ever  solicited  for  pur- 
poses more  clearly  meritorious,  and,  we  may  add, 
for  objects  more  certainly  practicable?  Is  it  riot 
highly  desirable  to  raise  from  the  dust  the  Church 
of  our  fathers,  to  collect  together  her  dispersed 
members,  and  to  pour  into  the  hearts  of  her  des- 
ponding sons  and  daughters  the  beams  of  consola- 
tion and  joy  ?  Did  we  plead  for  the  preservation  of 
the  poor  from  the  distressing  effects  of  famine,  you 
"Would  lend  us  an  ear  of  compassion.  How  much 
more  then  will  your  pity  be  excited  for  the  Salva- 
tion of  Souls  ?  If  you  feel  a  Christian  love  for  your 
fellow  beings,  we  beseech  you  to  manifest  its  sin- 
cerity by  co-operating  in  a  measure  w  hich  affords 
the  prospect  of  turning  many  to  righteousness,  of 
saving  their  souls  from  condemnation.    Do  you 


(4) 


not  acknowledge  the  duty  which  the  Apostle  en* 
joins,  of  doing  good  to  all  men,  especially  to  those 
who  are  of  the  household  of  faith  ?  Permit  us  then 
to  ask  in  what  way  can  you  do  a  more  important 
or  a  more  lasting  good,  than  by  contributing  to  this 
fund,  which  will  enable  the  Society  to  repair  the  de- 
cays of  the  Church,  and  to  enlarge  the  number  of 
her  faithful  shepherds.  Shepherds  who  will  ga- 
ther together  the  wandering  flocks  of  Christ;  es- 
tablish their  folds  ;  feed  them  plenteously  w  ith  the 
bread  of  life ;  lead  them  forth  to  fountains  of  living 
water ;  and,  in  fine,  conduct  them  to  the  bright 
mansions  of  eternal  felicity. 

CONSTITUTION 

Of  the  Missionary  Society  of  the  Protestant  Epis- 
copal Church  in  North-Carolina. 

Article  1.  This  Society  shall  be  known  by  the 
name  or  title  oi  the  Missionary  Society  of  the  Pro- 
testant Episcopal  Church  of  North-Carolina. 

2.  There  shall  be  an  annual  meeting  of  this  So* 
ciety,  on  the  second  Thursday  after  Easter,  at  the 
place  at  which  the  convention  of  the  Protestant 
Episcopal  Church  of  North-Carolina  for  that  year 
may  be  held. 

3.  The  Officers  of  this  Society  shall  be,  a  Presi- 
dent, three  Vce-Pve*idei;ts,  a  Secretary,  Treasurer, 
and  aboard  of  Managers- 

4.  Itshaii  >e  the  duty  of  the  President  to  preside 
in  the  meetings  of  the  society,  and  to  call  special 
meetings  of  die  same, 

5.  The  Vice-Presidents,  by  seniority,  shall  in  ?he 
absence,  or  at  the  requesi  r>fthe  President  perforajp 
the  duties  pfPresideut, 

6.  The  secretary  snail  keep  a  record  of  the  trans- 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2014 


https://archive.org/details/addressofmission01epis 


